Pork Tenderloin with Rosemary and Thyme

I don't have a broiler pan or a baster, so I just put this on a regular baking sheet lined with foil, and it kind of cooked in it's own juices. It turned out great, really flavorful.

2 1/2 lb pork tenderloins
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Thyme sprigs  (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Trim fat from pork;  place on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Combine mustard and the next 4 ingredients (mustard throgh pepper) in a bowl;  brush over pork.  Insert meat thermometer into the thickest part of pork. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until thermometer registers 160 degrees (slightly pink)  basting frequently with mustard mixture.  Garnish with thyme, if desired.  4 servings.

Broccoli with Brown Rice Penne

This was (I think) a Barefoot Contessa recipe and the original was broccoli with bowties, but no luck finding whole wheat bowties at the grocery store. I love it because it uses lemon.

Kosher salt
8 cups broccoli florets (4 heads)
1/2 pound farfalle (bow tie) pasta
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 lemon, zested
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup toasted pignoli (pine) nuts
Freshly grated Parmesan, optional

Cook the broccoli for 3 minutes in a large pot of boiling salted water. Remove the broccoli from the water with a slotted spoon or sieve. Place in a large bowl and set aside.

In the same water, cook the bow-tie pasta according to the package directions, about 12 minutes. Drain well and add to the broccoli.

Meanwhile, in a small saute pan, heat the butter and oil and cook the garlic and lemon zest over medium-low heat for 1 minute. Off the heat, add 2 teaspoons salt, the pepper, and lemon juice and pour this over the broccoli and pasta. Toss well. Season to taste, sprinkle with the pignolis and cheese, if using, and serve.

To toast pignolis, place them in a dry saute pan over medium-low heat and cook, tossing often, for about 5 minutes, until light brown.

Quiche

This was one of my more ambitious recipes, largely because it required making a homemade, whole wheat pie crust. However, the pie crust wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. I guess it just made the process more time consuming. However, I'd say the time was worth it, because we used the quiche for breakfast all week. I will add, though, that perhaps the crust was easy for me thanks in part to the white whole wheat flour I found at Trader Joe's. The brand is King Arthur and it's great. I've just been replacing all the white flour in recipes with it and so far haven't had any problems.

Pie Crust:
2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup oil
5 TB cold water

Preheat oven 425 degrees and bake for 15 minutes before pouring quiche in, otherwise will get soggy.

Quiche:
3 eggs
1 cup whites
2 oz cut-up cheese (I used mozzarella b/c I didn't have swiss)
4 strips turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled
3/4 cup ff half-and-half
1/2 cup frozen spinach, thawed and drained
Fresh thyme (use your judgment...completely optional)

Mix all together and pour into sprayed 9 inch pie plate. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes until eggs are set and knife comes out clean. Let sit 5 minutes before cutting.

Shish Kebabs

For these, I marinated chicken in soy sauce, oregano and garlic and then just skewered the chicken with onions, peppers, and mushrooms. Obviously, you can use whatever meat, vegetables, or marinade you want. This marinade is great with some lime squeezed over it after cooking. I love my new George Foreman. (It has the detachable grill plates, which make it easy to clean.)

Tuna Casserole

This is my mom's recipe that I adapted. Although the directions called for a 35 minute cook time, I think I only cooked mine for about 20 minutes, as it had gotten bubbly and the noodles started to crisp at the top.

8 oz. wide whole wheat egg noodles
2 cans (7 oz. Each) tuna, well drained
1 ½ C lowfat sour cream (12 oz)
¾ C skim milk
1 can (3 oz) sliced mushrooms, drained
1 ½ tsps salt
¼ tsp pepper
¼ C dry bread crumbs
¼ C grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsps Smart Balance, melted

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook noodles as directed. Return drained noodles to pot; stir in tuna, sour cream, milk, mushrooms, salt and pepper. Pour into ungreased 2 quart casserole dish.

Mix bread crumbs, cheese and butter; sprinkle over casserole. If desired, sprinkle paprika over bread crumb mixture. Bake uncovered 35 to 40 minutes or until bubbly. Makes 6 to 8 servings